Girls Basketball: Loudoun County Defeats Briar Woods in Dulles District Opener, 56-44

Ashburn (Dec. 11, 2009) - The Loudoun County High School girls basketball team went on the road and defeated Briar Woods Falcons, 56-44, in a AA Dulles District opener Friday night.

Both teams came into the contest with identical 3-0 records. County led throughout the contest as they posted a 32-22 halftime lead.

County's Brittany Batts had a game high 16 points and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line. Batts also had four steals. Alissa Kain finished with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Kendra Holmes, who only played eight minutes in the second half due to foul trouble, was also able to finish in double digits with 10 points. Holmes also had eight rebounds and four assists.

Sophomores Jenna Strange, Erica Linnemann, and Alex Lapple all were key contributors in the Raider win. Strange finished with eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots. Linnemann had nine points - four rebounds while Lapple had two key steals and played solid defense for County.

Kim Bell and Ashley O'Neill finished with double digit points for the Falcons. Bell had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while O'Neill finished with 10.

County will travel to South Riding on Tuesday to take on the Freedom Eagles. This game will be the second game of a doubleheader with the boys tipping off at 6 p.m. Both County and Freedom are ranked in the Washington Post poll. County is 13th while Freedom is ranked 11th. Both are VHSL defending state champions -- Freedom in Division 3 and Loudoun County in Division 4 though both teams are Division 4 this season.

LOUDOUN COUNTY 56, BRIAR WOODS 44
L (4-0, 1-0) — Batts 16, A. Kain 14, Holmes 10, Linnemann 9, Strange 4, Lapple 2, Cummings 1. Totals 18 17-25 56.
B (3-1, 0-1) — Bell 12, O'Neill 10, Firestone 7, Gilbert 5, Jones 4, Herndon 3, Harris 2, McCarthy 1. Totals 13 14-17 44.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 32-22.
Three-point goals: L 3 (Batts 2, Linnemann); B 4 (Bell 2, Firestone, Herndon).
Rebounds: L 35 (Batts 3, A. Kain 7, Holmes 8, Linnemann 4, Strange 8, Lapple 2, Cummings 3), BW 33 (Bell 10, Harris 10, Adams 4, Gilbert 6, O’Neill 1, Jones 1, McCarthy 1).
Assists: L 9 (A. Kain 3, Holmes 4, Strange 2); BW 9 (Bell 1, Adams 4, Harris 1, Gilbert 1, Firestone 1, McCarthy 1).
Steals: BW 10 (Bell 3, Adams 1, Harris 2, Gilbert 2, Firestone 1, Jones 1).
Blocks: BW 4 (Bell 2, Gilbert 1, Harris 1).